Dr. Lagumdzija – Conference on employment growth – on a road to recovery: In the centre of this new era are no longer the work, nor raw materials and capital, but knowledge



The international conference entitled: “Conference on employment growth – on a road to recovery” was held in Sarajevo on 1 July 2014, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the World Academy of Art and Science.

 

Speakers of the Conference, held with support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), were Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science Dr. Zlatko Lagumdzija, Director General of the World Academy of Art and Science Garry Jacobs, Honorary President of the World Academy of Art and Science academic Ivo Slaus, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of B&H Vjekoslav Bevanda, Director of the World Bank in B&H Anabela Abreu, Special Representative of the EU to B&H and Head of the Delegation of the European Union to B&H Ambassador Peter Sorensen, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in B&H Yuri Afanasiev, Secretary General of the Regional Council for Cooperation Goran Svilanovic, Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in B&H Joseph Guntern and other local and international experts in the field of labour and employment.

The aim of the Conference, that was symbolically held a week after marking the 100^th anniversary of World War I, was to draw attention to the fact that unemployment and economic crisis represent the biggest challenges facing humanity today and at the same time to point to possible solutions which require concrete action. Participants of the Conference from B&H and regional and world countries were striving to form innovative and new ideas and legal solutions needed to overcome those challenges and threats as well as to emphasize the need for solving the issue of creating new jobs in the period after catastrophic floods that affected and devastated Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia.

Following the opening plenary session which discussed strategies for achieving full employment, barriers to full employment and youth employment, a series of parallel working sessions/forums on youth employment and strategies for financing employment were held with the aim to find possible solutions for unemployment in B&H and the region through concrete examples and projects.

In the closing plenary session it was discussed about creating new jobs in the phase of recovery after natural disasters, the preparation of national strategy, employment and regional perspectives and at the end the conclusions were adopted.

Dr. Lagumdzija thanked all participants for attending  the conference, especially a number of young people who participated in the work of parallel sessions, and he expressed his satisfaction with conclusions that were adopted. He noted that the same will be systematized in future and precisely formulated and offered to all levels of government and segments of B&H society, while on the other hand, all participants of the conference under the auspices of the World Academy of Art and Science and local academic institutions will establish a network of people who will work for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region and extend their knowledge and adopted conclusions.

Dr. Lagumdzija stressed that the importance of the conference which has been prepared for three months, after the announcement of the EU new approach on economic development and the rule of law, is even higher due to the floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and he expressed his belief that with more active approach to economic reforms it is possible to change the process of reconstruction of flood-hit areas into reconstruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a true sense.

"In the centre of this new era are no longer the work, nor raw materials and capital, but knowledge", Dr. Lagumdzija highlighted, inter alia, and cited that today's international market makes 4 to 5 trillion dollars available which is equal to GDP of B&H for 300 years.

During the conference, among other things, it was pointed out that employment in today's modern time is the economic equivalent of the right to vote and people without jobs and income are not able to participate in regular social trends.

It was concluded that full employment is possible, also in Bosnia and Herzegovina. All interlocutors agreed that there are numerous opportunities for employment growth in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, as well as for removal of barriers to the same, and it was concluded that full political will and support of citizens is necessary to remove these barriers. It was particularly emphasized the crucial importance of the media for spreading ideas and getting support.

Also, it was concluded that it is necessary to facilitate the operation of enterprises, especially SMEs, to improve the education system in B&H since certain studies proved that higher level of education in the country means more opportunities for employment, and it was specifically pointed to the need for harmonization of educational programs with labour market needs. At the conference it was particularly highlighted that the system of online education is very important.